


Astraphobia

by NightlightStories



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Couch Cuddles, Fluff, M/M, Teasing, Thunder and Lightning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:48:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27166126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightlightStories/pseuds/NightlightStories
Summary: Just as a studio session ends, a thunder storm starts. Too bad for Ashton who is secretly really scared of them. But luckily Luke is there to help his friend through it and maybe hear about some other truths that Ashton hadn't revealed before.
Relationships: Luke Hemmings/Ashton Irwin
Kudos: 16





	Astraphobia

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys. This is my first work on AO3 and I hope some people will like it. I usually write stories in German but since I like to be able to write the guys' dialogue in English I decided to try it out. Constructive criticism is always welcome. I actually wrote this a year ago and wanted to traslate it back, but I have given up on that as you can see :D  
> Please enjoy!  
> In reality Luke and Ashton are obviously with their lovely girlfriends, but I hope it's okay that I borrowed them for this story :)
> 
> Since I'm posting this on the day Superbloom came out: Does everyone love it as much as I do? :)

As they left the studio that afternoon it was incredibly humid. The whole week leading up to this day had been dry heat, almost desert like and people had been warning of wild fires on the news. But now it was clear that there was rain to come. Most likely a thunderstorm, the conditions were perfect; Ashton had checked several times in the last few hours. And right on cue he heard a distant growl of thunder.

He had to be fast now. If he didn’t get home before the storm picked up, he didn’t know what would happen. It was pathetic really, his fear of thunderstorms, but he had had it since he was a child and it had just never gotten any better. Thunder and lightning just made him want to curl up in his bed and shut the outside world out. It had been a bit better when his girlfriend was there to distract him, but since they broke up almost a year ago, he was back to the usual protocol.

Luke knew it was bad, when he saw Ashton flinch at the thunder. It would be better not to let him drive in this state, he thought, so he asked him: “Do you wanna pool? I can take you home and we can hang for a bit.”

Ashton was visibly relieved at the offer but also hesitant: Not one of his friends knew about this fear, and he didn’t really want Luke to be present when he was at his lowest and most pathetic. In the end his fear won though and he gladly accepted Luke’s offer. After all his best friend knew other things about him that were objectively more embarrassing than a fear of thunderstorms. He’d have to get his car tomorrow or whenever the thunder and lightning stopped for good.

The ride to Ashton’s house was quiet, except for the occasional thunder in the distance. And each time they could hear it, Ashton flinched again, to Luke’s concern: “Are you okay?” he asked. Hesitating because he knew how Ashton didn’t like to be weak and also because he didn’t really know what this behaviour meant. Clearly, Ashton didn’t like thunderstorms, that had always been quite obvious, but Luke had never picked up on the extend of that dislike or maybe even fear that he showed now. Ashton simply stayed home whenever there used to be a thunderstorm on a day they had band practice. He always had a great excuse, with not owning a car and it being dangerous to bike during such weather.

But now Luke began to question whether there was something more.

Ashton could almost hear Luke worrying in his mind from the passenger seat. That guy had always been way too in tune with his emotions even when Ash tried his best to hide them. When they first met, he thought that that was just how Luke was: Always nice and comforting and very great at reading people. But over time Ash had realised that more than with any other person Luke was just somehow able to sense when he got anxious or depressed around him. “Yeah fine, mate”, he finally answered to stop Luke’s incessant worrying.

Luke wished that he could comfort Ashton who was clearly running his mind, getting more and more anxious the closer thunder and lightning followed each other. The thunderstorm was coming nearer and heavy drops of rain started to hit the windshield. But it wasn’t really socially accepted to squeeze a male friend’s knee or hold his hand and there wasn’t really much else to do with him driving and having to concentrate on getting them to Ashton’s place safely. He could just ask if Ash was fine again but that wouldn’t do much good. Maybe he should just make sure to get them home quickly, so Ash was a bit more comfortable.

“Do you like thunderstorms, Luke?”, Ashton asked suddenly, “I’ve never actually asked you this before, have I?”

“Yeah, well I guess I like them when I’m inside looking out. Not so much a fan when I’m outside in the rain”, Luke answered calmly.

“Shit”, Ashton thought, “now he’s gonna think that I’m a weirdo.” At least he was worried now about being awkward around Luke instead of the thunderstorm he reasoned, so small successes!

As they drove up to the guarded neighbourhood Ashton lived in, the rain really started pouring down with vigour and Luke could see Ash sinking a bit further into the passenger seat. As the gate opened, he briefly touched his shoulder to calm Ashton down at least a bit. He seemed to relax for the moment.

Finally, they arrived at Ashton’s house and drove up the driveway. Ashton could feel his stress lessening and turned to Luke to thank him for driving, as a loud clap of thunder startled him.

“Fuck”

“Yeah, what a weather”, Luke said unconcerned, “Let’s just go in and make a cup of tea or coffee, whatever. Do you have your keys?”

“Let’s go, quickly so we don’t get drenched. Yes, I’ve got my keys, I’m not an idiot Luke”, Ashton said. He tried to keep the mood light, joking and teasing Luke because he felt he had already given too much of his stress away, making Luke stressed out in the process.

While Luke made them tea, Ashton put on his favourite movie and got himself his actual duvet to curl up in. Which was how Luke found him when he came back with their cups. He had to laugh so much at the sight of Ash bundled up in a literal mountain of blanket that he almost spilled the tea. But finally, he was able to control himself and set the cups down on the coffee table.

As Ash was occupying the sofa, he wanted to sit down in the armchair on the other side of it, but Ashton wasn’t having it. “Come here, man”, he said, patting next to him, slightly making room for Luke to squeeze onto the sofa with him.

Luke lightly tugged on the duvet so he was able to see Ashton’s face when he spoke to him. “You and your duvet make me think of the first time we had a sleepover at Mikey’s aunt’s house, do you remember?”, Luke said.

Ashton grinned, “Of course I remember, I made Cal sleep on the floor.” As he remembered that day, he also remembered that there had been a thunderstorm that night. The only reason he hadn’t freaked out that time was because he had his headphones to drown out the thunder. And he had watched Luke. Seeing him sleeping so peacefully through the storm had somehow made him less scared. Since then, he had actually found that looking at Luke was a good way for him to feel less anxious in a lot of situations. “Can we watch the movie”, he asked Luke. If Luke were preoccupied with the film, he would be able to watch him; the movie drowning out the thunderstorm was just an added bonus.

The movie had been on the screen for about half an hour and Luke had gotten invested in the story, so Ash allowed himself to creep a little closer and lean against him. Watching him closely, his fear lessened. Luke’s eyes that were fixed on the TV, his long eye lashes that were very visible even though Luke was blond, his nose that was so straight, his hands that were fiddling with the blanket he had gotten himself earlier. “You know, that I can feel you watching me, yeah?”

Startled Ashton moved away and stared straight ahead. “I didn’t”, he claimed and Luke laughed, “It’s okay, I don’t mind. Look at me all you want. I mean there is not much to look at anyway but whatever you need to feel better.”

“You are crazy, man. Not much to look at, what are you talking about? You’re way prettier than a lot of girls I know”, Ash exclaimed and blushed as he realised what he had said. That implied that he thought Luke was good looking which also felt like too big of a confession to make for some reason. He didn’t really know why he said it anyway, as that wasn’t even the reason why he had looked at Luke in the first place.

Deep in thought he missed Luke’s blush at the statement. But as he thought about it for longer, he realised that Luke had also picked up on him not feeling great.

“I’m sorry, that I’m so weird today. It’s just”, he began to explain but then stopped. Maybe he shouldn’t tell Luke. “Yeah, what is it?”, Luke asked and Ashton decided that he would come clean after all. There was no use in hiding such a thing from Luke anyway, “I’m just really scared of thunderstorms, ever since I’ve been a little kid. It helps when I’m with someone, but it just makes me feel really on edge until it stops.”

Luke wasn’t really that surprised, after all he had already guessed that it was the storm that Ashton was scared of. He was still hung up on the first confession though: Ash thought that he was pretty, which was weirdly flattering and also reassuring, in a way.

“That’s okay, Ash”, Luke said, “Everyone’s afraid of something. You are scared of thunderstorms, for me it’s heights and snakes. We can help each other through it though, can’t we?” He really wanted to hug Ashton, but didn’t know if it would be taken the wrong way. What if he thought that Luke was doing it because he pitied him and thought he needed babying?

“Yes. Thanks, Luke”, Ashton answered and scooted closer to Luke on the couch because he was searching for a little physical affirmation. So, Luke decided to hug him after all and Ashton joked, “Well, this is a great arrangement, unless we’re on a high tower filled with snakes in the middle of a thunderstorm.”

Luke laughed and held him a little tighter for a few seconds before letting go of Ashton and settling down on the couch a bit further apart again.

Ashton’s hugs were always the best out of any of the guys in the band, but that was probably just because he was the most muscular of them, Luke thought before drifting off and thinking about nothing in particular. Deep in thought he rested his head on Ashton’s shoulder and started playing with his friend’s hand.

Surprised at first, Ashton settled into the new situation quickly, although he still wondered why it felt so nice to have Luke so close to him. The thunder had let up, and now that it was almost over, he shouldn’t need the physical comfort as much, but the way things were felt too nice to tell Luke that he was fine. It didn’t seem like the other knew what he was doing currently and if he told him, he might stop. And that was just not on.

Luke finally noticed what he was doing when he had threaded his fingers through Ash’s and just held his hand for a moment. He could feel his heartbeat in his throat suddenly. “What is happening”, he thought and looked at Ashton to see what his friend thought about all of it, only to find him blushing profusely.

Ashton realised the implications of him enjoying the fiddling and hand-stroking when Luke stopped, only to hold his hand. “This is way too much like a couple. And what’s even worse is that I like it like this. I’m so fucked”, Ashton thought, before noticing that Luke was looking at him expectantly.

“What is it?”, he asked him in return.

“Don’t know. What are we doing Ash?”, Luke asked.

“You’re holding my hand?”, Ash answered unsure of what Luke was getting at.

“Sure, that too. But I meant, more of like…where am I going with this? I guess I was wondering this more to myself”, Luke tried to explain. He felt like he didn’t really get across what he was trying to say, but then again, he also didn’t know if he even knew what he was trying to say to Ashton.

Ashton was lost. Luke didn’t seem to know where he was taking this and he wasn’t really up for trying anything under the circumstances. On the other hand, Luke was looking at him as if he wanted him to do something about it. “But what if this fucks everything up? The band, our friendship…”, Ashton thought anxiously. To this day he had never even thought of Luke as anything other than his best friend, but maybe he had just been deluding himself into thinking that for all these years. It wasn’t like he had never thought that Luke was good looking or hot before.

Unbeknownst to him Luke had similar worries. Just with the added layer of sexual confusion. Everyone who knew them personally knew that Ash was bi, but no man had ever interested Luke up until now. And suddenly he felt an insane pull towards his best friend just because they cuddled and he had held his hand. Actually, scrap that, was holding his hand. Currently. And he hadn’t even thought of stopping it, once he had realised what that probably meant for them.

“Fuck it”, Luke thought and just decided he would try and see where it would take them. He took a strand of Ashton’s hair and put it carefully behind his ear, slightly stroking his cheek in the process. “Still, scared?”, he asked teasingly.

“No not really”, Ash admitted, seeming a little out of breath. “Why are you still holding my hand then?”, Luke asked.

Ashton caught on to what was happening and replied, “Not sure. Why are you stroking my cheek?”

“Don’t know”, came the reply, “do you mind?”

“No”, Ashton said and leaned into the touch slightly. He felt really vulnerable, even though he knew Luke wouldn’t hurt him. They just looked into each other’s eyes for a few long moments, searching for their feelings to be returned.

“I love your eyes, Ash”, Luke said and leaned in a little more until their noses were almost touching. So close to kissing, Ashton could barely think of anything else than what Luke’s lips would feel like on his. He just had to do it. But what if he read all of this wrong and Luke was just fucking with him?

“Can I kiss you?”, he whispered almost inaudible.

“Do you want to?”, Luke asked back.

“Please Luke”, Ash just said in response. Luke noticed that he looked hurt and that was just not on. He hadn’t tried to hurt him; he’d just wanted to draw out the anticipation and the almost kiss. Ashton was moving back already, so he just let go of his hand and put it on Ashton’s chin to pull him in again.

“I’d love for you to kiss me, actually”, he finally admitted. Ashton looked visibly relieved and put his hands on Luke’s shoulders. Grinning wide, he teased, “Do you now?” Luke smiled back and then decided that this was enough suspense and just put his lips on Ashton’s.

His thoughts instantly stopped and he was just able to feel. His best friends soft, slightly chapped lips on his. Moving with him, teasing, adding pressure.

At the first flick of tongue, that Luke worked into their kiss, Ash was a goner. Tongues tangling, exploring and fighting for dominance. His hands strayed into Luke’s hair, holding onto him, pulling him closer all the same.

Luke let out a groan as Ashton pulled on his hair. How did that guy already know how to play him right, just from their first kiss?

Coming up for air, they just held each other close for a while thinking about what happened there. Ashton buried his face in Luke’s neck and got the courage to ask, “Luke?”

“Yeah, Ash?”

“Do you…ehm…should we, like, go out or something?”

“Why?”, Luke asked perplexed. Why would Ashton want to leave the house right now? He felt happy where he was. But maybe he just wanted to get his car.

“What do you mean why? Do you not want this to be a thing? I thought this could be the beginning of something great for us! Don’t you want to date me, is that it?”, Ashton asked worried.

“Oh no, shit, I didn’t mean it like that. Of course, I want us to date. I just thought right now. And right now, I’d rather stay here you know. And maybe kiss some more”, Luke smiled at Ash. They got lost in each other’s eyes again. Now that that misunderstanding was cleared up, they could both relax again and this time it was Ash who took the first step and moved to put his lips on Luke’s. And they were kissing again.

Why would they ever leave the house to go out, if they could just do this instead?


End file.
